Could Tony Zale Take SRL?

Tony Zale wins the first one. Ray gets the second one.

 

SRL with all his advantages from the ring and training regime still had a competitive fight with past it Hagler.

Tony Zale.

 

Zale at his best takes it

 

Leonard beats him the same way he beat Hagler, only easier.

 

I'd favor Zale w/ the hand & foot speed of his youth to win @ least 1 of those fights, especially if it's over 15.

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What advantages going into the Hagler fight? Leonard hadn't fought in three years, and was knocked on his arse by a clubfighter during the first comeback in 1984. Also, he never fought at middleweight before. Your comment doesn't make sense.

 

He asked for a bigger ring from what I remember,and Hagler gave him exactly what he wanted,he also trained in those sparring sessions like real pro fights behind closed doors,I thought when he was on the Hagler match he recovered by 90%.

 

The ring size, the glove size, & the 12 rnd limit were all concessions given to Leonard.

 

What size was the ring in all of Hagler’s other fights? If it was smaller, does that mean Hagler had ‘every advantage’ and thus his title wins are diminished?

When was Hagler’s last scheduled 15-round fight before Leonard? I’ll tell you — 2 1/2 years earlier, in the second Hamsho fight. Did all those other guys snooker Marvin at the negotiating table to get their fights to 12 rounds? Why did nobody make it an issue then? I’ll tell you: Hagler by then wasn’t intent or apparently even interested in fighting 15 … if he had, as champion, he would have been insisting on it (not just against Ray, but against the others).

What size were the gloves in Hagler’s other title fights? Do you know? It was a longstanding thing that middleweight title fights could be fought with 10- or 8-ounce gloves. If Marvin did, indeed, fight all his other title fights in 8-ounce gloves, does that mean Marvin was using his juice as champion to get an extra advantage? If so, why isn’t he criticized for ‘always having an edge’?

Hagler agreed to every condition in this fight, including — and especially — the purse split, of which he got the lion’s share. But since he lost, let’s act like he got taken to the cleaners. If he gets 8-ounce gloves, a 17-foot ring and 15 rounds and wins, are we saying ‘well Marvin only won because he used his power to get every advantage?’ No, we aren’t. Because none of this — NONE of it — was ever raised as an issue or excuse for Marvin when he won when he did have advantages.

 

So a guy with one fight in five years has some sparring sessions? That’s an ‘advantage’? You think Marvin didn’t spar all those years?

Does Ray have to sit on his couch and never lift a muscle for five years to make this a fair fight, lol?

And while we’re at it, tell me who he fought. How many rounds? What the result of those ‘secret fights’ Ray had were? Which top contenders did he face?

 

Nah,you got my point wrong.

My point is that Leonard wasn't really st his best anymore at middleweight and later weights,even when he trained for the Hagler fight like Duran preparing that rematch for De Jesus,I just don't think his physical strength was enough to handle the likes of Zale,who was a well known bull that pierces thru your body.

 

I don’t take it as we have to use Leonard of Hagler.

I think Ray is just a higher-class fighter than Zale, who is too easy to hit for him. The Ray Leonard who won the junior middleweight championship from Ayub Kalule is good enough to beat Zale IMO, although he wouldn’t probably fight the same game plan.

Zale was not a large middleweight at 5-7 1/2 and fairly often scaled more like 158-ish. He wasn’t a large guy melted down to 160. He was strong, but I don’t think Ray gets into the trenches with him much.

Leonard late KO or decision.

 

Marvin, Hearns and Lalonde did prove they could drag Leonard to the trenches,and remember he was mainly an aggressive boxer puncher at best,but you got a fair point.



I just thought that if Hagler and Duran's body blows could wear down Leonard at some point,maybe Zale could drill Leonard good.